Music & Radio Industries Bid Farewell To "Greatest Rock Drummer Ever"

Not everybody will know the name Hal Blaine, but anyone who's listened to music from the 60s onwards has heard him play the drums. The musician, part of the legendary Wrecking Crew, died on Monday at the age of 90 but his accomplishments are sure to live on.

It's estimated he played on more than 6,000 singles, including such hits as "Good Vibrations," "Be My Baby," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "I Got You Babe," "Poor Side of Town," "This Diamond Ring," "Strangers in the Night," and thousands more. And yes, that's him behind the kit on "The Brady Bunch" and "Three's Company" theme songs.

A list of just some of the tunes he contributed to can be found here, but it reads like a greatest hits station playlist. A simply astounding career and the tributes are pouring in from all sides of the musical spectrum. This guy was truly a legend.

Here's a suggestion for someone at AM740, perhaps for the upcoming Saturday Night Bandstand's theme this week. How about an hour (or more) of songs Hal Blaine played on? You'd get almost every single genre in there, play dozens of hits and never have a single repetition. I'd tune in for that.

It's ironic that just two days before he died, I took a chance to see if he would friend me on Facebook. He did. Although he was 90 (and this will make Grilled Cheese happy) I believe he was the most recorded drummer of all time. He could drum any genre. A magnificent talent.

The video below is just over 11 minutes long and it's simply astounding to see how many songs you know instantly that he was on. I watched it in astonishment. Unbelievable. And it only scratches the surface.

You're welcome John. I often watch just a few seconds or about a minute of an online video before clicking off. I watched this one in rapt attention the whole way through. And in tribute to Blaine, it likely could have been a lot longer!